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North Korea's economy is one of the smallest and most isolated in the world.
But right now, it's growing fast.
South Korea's central bank estimates North Korea's economy grew for a third straight year in 2025.
That's despite international sanctions aimed at limiting the regime's access to money.
And signs of North Korea's newfound prosperity are all over the country's capital.
The transformation on Pyongyang's streets is remarkable.
The city's skyline has been transformed.
The streets used to be empty, and now you have traffic jams.
There are more privately owned Chinese vehicles.
Cat Barton is Bloomberg's Seoul bureau chief.
She covers the Korean peninsula and says it's not just the economy that's booming.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is also having a moment.
Kim Jong Un's presence is particularly notable.
It is his first foray into international diplomacy since he came into power.
The imagery is very, very striking.
It's all part of a remarkable turnaround for North Korea and for Kim,
who's spent much of his 15 years in power grappling with challenges from international sanctions to global isolation.
Then there were the failed talks with President Donald Trump over Kim's nuclear weapons program in 2019.
Kim was broke.